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In October, crosstie purchases — which had been erratic for several months — tumbled 32 percent from September’s level to 1.3 million units, according to the Railway Tie Association’s (RTA) latest monthly market report.

However, tie production climbed 4.5 percent to 1.85 million units, the highest monthly level since July 2009. And after an eight-month fall, tie inventories rose 4 percent to 15.7 million units, RTA said.

Through 2010’s first 10 months, purchases totaling 16.8 million units dipped 3 percent and production totaling 13.8 million units plummeted 30 percent compared with figures from the same 2009 period. Inventories dropped by 2.8 million units vs. October 2009’s level, the report states.

Meanwhile, 12-month rolling data shows purchases of 19.1 million units are 8 percent above a May low point while production of 16.3 million units is down 30 percent from a year ago, but “the decline appears to be at an end,” RTA officials said in the report. Inventories decreased 15 percent during the 12-month period and the inventory-to-sales ratio of 0.82 “halted a decline,” the report states.